Ok I’ve made the wife a deal. She has been using the crap out of the diode laser I set up on my primo. I told her if she keeps it up and continues using it and selling stuff then come income tax time I will build her a CO2 laser to really help the time it takes to cut things out.
I’ve been doing research on it and will continue to. But I know there are a ton of y’all here with first hand knowledge and experience with these that will be able to help me out a lot as well.
Main desires (right now anyways)
24” x 48” working area
Powerful enough to cut 1/4” plywood in a single pass at a decent speed and as close to 100% cut rate as possible. (Taking 3 passes at 300mm/min and 90% power on the A40640 right now and only about 70% success rate)
Enclosed so no chance of stray laser beams in unwanted areas
Some of my main questions at this point are what controller/drivers/steppers should I run? Will the jackpot and 2209s be enough or should I look at something like the Ruida?
I’m leaning towards getting the design files from this YouTube video and adjusting it to the size I want.
Also I have been looking at different laser tubes. Thinking of starting out with a cheaper one from eBay then later upgrading to a better one if it all works out and runs well. Will also need to source all of the mirrors lenses and whatever else I might need to get it done.
This is all stepping way outside of my comfort zone but I think I have learned enough to be able to figure it out. And I know with a lot of help from the awesome people here I can make it happen. I’m sure there is a TON I’m forgetting so please speak up about anything I need to keep in mind. Thank you all for the help!
I’m sorta in the same boat. But I have not looked up the price on anything this size yet either. I’m hoping to buy 4x8 sheets and just cut them down in 1/4s and her be able to load up multiple jobs at once where now I’m cutting them down in 400x400 squares and a few 600x600 squares. Hoping with the larger sheet there will be less waste, easier to cut off a larger left over section to use later
" Thickness: Generally, a 40W to 45W CO2 laser like the Muse Core or 3D autofocus can cut up to ¼ “ thick wood , while a laser such as the P-Series PS24 or Muse Titan with a 90W Tube can cut up to ½” thick wood"
After playing with a diode laser, the CO2 lasers can be pretty impressive
Yeah. The ability to cut 1/2” is a nice perk. And hoping with that power range we will be able to cut the 1/4” even faster and at a lower power level to help the laser last longer.
Also I don’t think I will drop the coin on a chiller at the beginning. I have a vevor ice machine and will make a reservoir out of a cooler with ice for the first little while. Then once it’s making good money I’ll invest in a proper chiller. Also my thought with using an eBay $400 100w tube instead of some of the others I’ve seen around $1,000
Sure glad I’m not the only one down this hole lol. I’ve been down here for about a week now. Sucks when I’m at work and don’t have my other million projects to help take my mind off of it lol
We need @vicious1 to whip up a co2 laser design for us in the next few months. Then I know it will be great!!! I know @bitingmidge would be all over it as well!!
DUDE. I want one…Of course I want to build it…but I keep watching some videos and the prices do seem to be getting better and now there are three types of laser, right?
I’m going to end up building one. Just trying to iron out what and how lol. Damn sure would look better with some v1 logos on it though…. Hint hint!! Lol
As soon as we figure out what to do about the little boot issue, that could be a really fun project. Carve in all the silkscreen stuff. I might need to do that.
I’m confused by that one. He references FurtherFabrication in his video description, but then says multiple times he designed it himself, though I think you have to pay for his patreon to get the plans.
